As stated in Wikipedia (2020), a charlatan (also called swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or some trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretence or deception. The word comes from French charlatan, a seller of medicines who might advertise his presence with music and an outdoor stage show. In WordWeb dictionary (2017), the word Charlatan is “A flamboyant deceiver; one who attracts customers with tricks or jokes”. According to Spindle Learning, (2006) charlatan is “a person who pretends to have a certain knowledge or ability”.
A charlatan, as it relates to estate management profession, is a person without adequate skills, technique, and knowledge in the profession; also someone who is not certified by the recognised professional body and the regulatory body established by law concerning the profession in question. Such a person is an unauthorised or illegal person. In relation to Estate Surveying and Valuation Profession, a charlatan is a person who practices any part of the profession without being a corporate member of NIESV and not having been registered by ESVARBON overseeing the profession.
In usage, a subtle difference is drawn between the charlatan and other kinds of confident people. He does not try to create a personal relationship with his remarks, but rather sets up an elaborate hoax using role playing. He resorts to quackery, pseudo-science, or some cunning means of impressing people in order to swindle his victims by selling them worthless nostrils and similar goods or services that will not deliver on the promises made for them.
